Is it weird that I love plain white rice?  When I say plain, I mean rice boiled – that’s it.  I like the taste of good quality rice.  I’m not talking about Uncle Ben’s boil in bag, I’m talking a good basmati or Thai jasmine rice. When it’s cooked well, they’ve got a very unique flavour that is amazing. I know that rice nutrition is next to zero but I would eat it every day if I could.  My husband thinks it’s weird that when I finish a meal at a Chinese restaurant, I actually take a spoon and eat the remaining rice from the bowl.  If there’s no more rice left, I’ll order a bowl of plain rice just for me to eat.  OK, I recognize this is a bit weird but hey, that’s me.

Rice, although it seems simple, is notoriously hard to get right.  My friend Gail, who is the queen of microwave cooking once taught me how to make rice in the microwave (yeah you can actually do that).  She made it seem absolutely simple until I actually tried it.  The one step she neglected to share with me was that you’ve got to turn the microwave to 50% power (really important step).  When I opened the microwave, I had a bowl of hard, black, glassy goo.  Not only did I discover that it is possible to char food in the microwave, but I also learned that burnt rice really stinks and the smell doesn’t go away for months.  Needless to say, I never tried that again and I perfected making rice on the stove.

So here are a few ways with rice because, although I love plain rice and can eat it everyday, I’m probably the only non-Asian person that can say that.

Plain Rice

Serves 4

Preparation: 1 minute

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup white rice

2 cups water

Method

Rinse rice under cold running water until the water is no longer cloudy.  Add rice and water in pot and place on high heat.  Once rice is boiling, stir, cover pot tightly with lid and reduce heat to low. Do not remove the lid and allow to cook for 15 minutes (this is a good time to get other parts of your meal started).  At 15 minutes check to see if the rice is cooked and water is absorbed.  If the rice appears wet, place the cover back on pot and continue to cook for 5 mints more.  At this point, if there is still water waiting to be absorbed, remove the pot from the heat and remove lid and let stand.  The rice will continue to absorb the water and any excess will begin evaporating.

Beans and Rice

Serves 4

Preparation: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup white rice (rinsed)

1 10oz can of beans (kidney beans, black beans, gungoa peas are good options)

¼ cup diced onion

2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1/8 tsp dry)

1 cup chicken broth

1 clove chopped garlic

1 – 2 tsp butter (or 1-2 tsp olive oil)

Method

Drain the beans over a measuring cup that can hold at least 2 cups of liquid. In this same measuring cup, add chicken broth until the total liquid measures 2 cups (if you’re a little short, add additional chicken broth or just plain water). Set the liquid and beans to the side for a moment.

Heat the butter on medium high heat in a small pot (with a lid).  Once the butter is melted, add onions and garlic and cook until onion is clear and shiny (being careful not to burn the garlic).   Add rice to the pan and stir to coat with butter/onion mix.  Add beans and liquid to the pot, stir and drop thyme sprigs on top.  Increase heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil.  Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 without removing the lid. If the rice appears wet, place the cover back on pot and continue to cook for 5 mints more.

Cilantro/Coriander Rice

Serves 4

Preparation: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup white rice (rinsed)

¼ cup diced onion

2 handfuls (about 1 cup) chopped cilantro/coriander

2 cup vegetable broth

1 clove chopped garlic

1 – 2 tsp butter (or 1-2 tsp olive oil)

Method

Heat the butter on medium high heat in a small pot (with a lid).  Once the butter is melted, add onions and garlic and cook until onion is clear and shiny (being careful not to burn the garlic).   Add rice to the pan and stir to coat with butter/onion mix.  Add the vegetable broth.  Increase heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil.  Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 without removing the lid. Remove lid and add the coriander/cilantro to the pan and stir.  If the rice is still wet, cover and continue to cook.  If the rice is the right consistency, cover the pan and remove from the heat for 5 minutes.

Serve.